Why trade deficits are not a bad thing

Most Americans seem to think international trade deficits are a bad thing.
21 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Mnuchin says it will be harder for Iran oil importers to get waivers

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday it will be harder for countries to get waivers on Iran oil sanctions than during the Obama administration and dismissed concerns that oil prices could rise, saying the market had already factored in the losses.
21 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Germany urges global minimum tax for digital giants

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in an interview for publication Sunday he backed a global minimum fiscal regime for multinationals as Europe looks to levy tax notably on US tech giants.
21 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Grain pain: Japan's ageing rice farmers face uncertain future

A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival.
21 October 2018, 18:00 PM

German investor morale plunges on trade, Brexit woes

German investor confidence plunged sharply in October, a closely watched survey said Tuesday, dragged down by fears over US-China trade tensions and a hard Brexit.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

UK unemployment rate holds at 43-year low

Britain's unemployment rate remained at 4.0 percent in the three months to August, the lowest point since 1975, official data showed Tuesday.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Russia World Cup added $14b to economy: organisers

The 2018 World Cup added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, more than one percent of the country's gross domestic product, tournament organisers said in Doha on Tuesday.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Ford faces outrage in France over factory closure

US carmaker Ford came under fire from the French government on Monday over its plans to close a factory producing gear boxes in southwest France that employs 850 people.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Annual US budget deficit hits six-year high of $779b

The US budget deficit hit a six-year high of $779 billion in the most recent fiscal year, the Treasury announced Monday, underscoring the cost of last year's sweeping tax cuts.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

China's third quarter GDP growth seen hitting lowest since 2009

At week's end, global investors and policy makers will likely be given a stark reminder of the costs of a bitter Sino-US trade war, with a Reuters poll predicting that China's third-quarter growth will slow to its weakest pace since the global financial crisis.
16 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Japan wants to put global imbalances on the map

Japan wants to highlight global imbalances as key topics of debate, and take steps to fix them, when it chairs next year's gatherings of the Group of 20 major economies, government officials said this week.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

A tech boom in Pittsburgh brings hope and angst

The city of Pittsburgh, the one-time steel capital that's long been a symbol of Rust-Belt decline, is emerging as a vibrant hub for artificial intelligence, robotics and biomedical companies eager to tap a rich talent pool.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Key EU lawmaker's plan to rein in online marketplaces a threat to Amazon

Amazon could face a threat other than just EU antitrust scrutiny after a key EU lawmaker announced proposals aimed at curbing online marketplaces' use of merchants' data to boost sales of own brand products.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Walmart acquires online lingerie retailer

Walmart Inc said on Friday it has acquired online lingerie retailer Bare Necessities for an undisclosed amount, its second apparel-focused acquisition in less than two weeks as it seeks deeper inroads into the online fashion space.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

US-China trade row not a threat to world economy: Mnuchin

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pushed back Saturday against warnings that Washington's trade fight with China imperils the world economy, saying that pushing Beijing to open up will be good for all.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

US senators urge India to soften data localisation stance

Two US senators have called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to soften India's stance on data localisation, warning that measures requiring it represent “key trade barriers” between the two nations.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Jack Ma to open institute for tech entrepreneurs

Jack Ma, executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group Holding, said on Saturday he plans to open an institute to train thousands of tech entrepreneurs in Indonesia, where he is already an adviser to the government on e-commerce.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Window of opportunity narrowing on global growth: IMF

The window of opportunity to keep global growth on track is "narrowing" amid trade disputes and emerging markets crises, the IMF said Saturday, and cautioned against currency wars as a US-China spat threatens to boil over.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

Facebook now says data breach affected 29m users, details impact

Cyber attackers stole data from 29 million Facebook accounts using an automated program that moved from one friend to the next, Facebook Inc announced on Friday, as the social media company said its largest-ever data theft hit fewer than the 50 million profiles it initially reported.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM

India's retail inflation picks up

India's retail inflation rose marginally in September, nudged up by food and fuel prices, but short of the Reserve Bank of India's 4 percent medium-term target, strengthening views it could tighten monetary policy in December following unchanged rates last week.
13 October 2018, 18:00 PM